


Sibling Rivalry

by Mixxy



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Kurt, Blaine is protective, But only kisses, But that's in part 2, Cooper has issues, Dubious Consent, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Sibling Rivalry, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-04
Updated: 2013-08-09
Packaged: 2017-12-22 09:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/911442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mixxy/pseuds/Mixxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they were young, Cooper always wanted what Blaine had.</p><p>But he's grown out of that, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cooper wants what he can't have, Kurt is oblivious, and here there be angst

“So it’s Saturday, at noon. You wanna come? It’s kind of lame, but…” Blaine shrugged, shifting back and forth where he stood.

Cooper swooped in and snatched the tickets from Blaine’s hand. “Are you kidding, brother dear? I wouldn’t miss your spring showcase for the world. And I just so happen to be in town for a bit, so it’s your lucky day.”

“Cool. Kurt’s got a whole solo song, which is pretty cool, and I duet with Tina, so…”

“Ah, yes, Kurt. The boyfriend.” Cooper pinned the tickets to the fridge under and magnet, then swiveled to face Blaine in his computer chair. “How is that going?”

“It’s…it’s great.” Blaine grinned, the kind of smile where you can try to hide it, but it shines through anyway. “He’s smart, and funny, and sweet…I can’t believe I got so lucky.”

“Ah, save it.” Cooper opened up his laptop again, turning away from Blaine. “I don’t wanna hear your schmoopy stuff.”

“Whatever.” Blaine lingered for another minute before leaving. The Anderson brothers had never been huge talkers, (not about anything deep, anyways) but they got along all right. Sibling rivalry aside, of course.

* * *

 

The concert was alright. Kid stuff, really, but not everyone could be in the big leagues like Cooper. Blaine’s duet with Tina was cute- _he needs to watch his face when he sings, though. And his steps were slightly off_ \- but it was Kurt’s song that really made Cooper lean in and _listen_.

It was Anna Kendrick’s “Cups”, light and breezy, and his voice was just…

Well, flawless.

He danced lightly around his teammates, singing as they did the cup routine on the floor, brushing Blaine’s shoulders as he passed. _Wow, he’s really graceful. Flexible, too_ , he noted as Kurt did a backbend over a small bond girl. _And not entirely unattractive._

Except that was Blaine’s boyfriend, and was it weird that Cooper thought that? He shook it off. Nah, better than thinking his brother picked some ugly-ass guy to be with. And Cooper could appreciate hotness in men _and_ women. It was just an LA thing. These Lima peons would probably never understand.

Afterwards he gave Blaine his notes, not noticing Blaine’s brow furrowing with annoyance, and complimented Tina, who was hanging all over Blaine, but that was a situation for another day. Slightly further away he found Kurt, talking to the tall one who couldn’t dance.

“Kurt!” Cooper clapped him on the back. “Your solo was exquisite, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Kurt shooed the tall one away and looked at Cooper enthusiastically. “Wow, do you really mean that? I mean, you probably see all kinds of better talent in LA living your star life, you don’t have to lie to me.”

“No, I mean it.” He slung an arm around Kurt’s shoulders. “You have real, raw talent, you know that? I’d love to do a project with you someday.”

The other boy broke into a smile that made his green-blue eyes just _sparkle_. Cooper would have to say more nice things, if it made his eyes shine like that. “I’d love to work with you, Cooper. I mean, you’ve got the commercial and everything and I’m just this high school wannabe-”

“Shut your mouth.” Cooper pressed a finger to Kurt’s lips, and didn’t _really_ think it was inappropriate, even if Kurt did look a little confused for a second. “You are not a wannabe. You’re a _gonna_ be.”

“’Kay.” Kurt flushed at the compliment, looking at the floor. “I’m just gonna…go find Blaine then. Thanks for coming by, Cooper.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you soon.”

Kurt all but bounced away, hugging Blaine from behind and darn near lifting him off his feet. Cooper went home not long after that, still thinking about bright blue-green eyes.

* * *

 

“Y’know, sometimes I just think that…Kurt doesn’t really know what he’s saying. I love him so much, and I can’t imagine not being together, but he keeps talking about leaving this town behind. Maybe he doesn’t understand that he’s leaving me behind too.”

“Kurt’s not stupid, Blaine,” Cooper said from behind his copy of _People_ that he wasn’t really reading. “He knows leaving here means leaving you.”

“Yeah, but maybe he doesn’t realize that it sounds like he isn’t gonna miss me.” Blaine was leaning against the wall, bouncing a tennis ball as he talked. It was really annoying, but Cooper wasn’t going to say anything.

“Blaine, Kurt is much bigger than Lima. You can’t expect him to give up on his dreams for you.”

“No, no, I’m not expecting that! I just….I don’t know. I’m going to miss him.”

“Well why wouldn’t you.” _He’s kind of…wonderful_. “It’s kind of cute, you two. Such the cliché high school romance. They all think you can make it work.”

He heard the tennis ball stop bouncing. “This isn’t some…Disney thing, it’s real. We’re really in love. And we _are_ going to make it work.”

“Of course you are, kiddo,” he said, tone patronizing.

Silence, then: “You don’t know anything. Why do I even talk to you about this stuff?” There were angry footsteps going up the stairs then Blaine’s door slammed. Cooper sighed, lowering the magazine. A tantrum. How juvenile. No wonder Kurt wanted to get out of this place. _I understand you, buddy_.

* * *

 

“Hi?” Cooper looked up at the voice, musical and sweet. The front door opened and closed, and Kurt took a few hesitant steps inside. “Hello?”

“In the living room!” Cooper called back.

After a minute, Kurt appeared in the archway. “Hey, Cooper. How’s it going?”

“Not bad. I mean, it’s no LA, but I can’t complain. You?”

“Oh, you know, it’s going. Is Blaine here?”

“Uh, no, actually.” It dawned on Cooper that Blaine actually wasn’t here, and Kurt _was_ , and if that wasn’t a sign… “He had to run out real quick.”

“Oh.” Kurt hovered awkwardly in the entrance. “I am a little early. I’ll just go wait in his room, if that’s okay-“

“You don’t have to go hide up there. I’m watching Newsies. Come on, watch it with me.” Cooper patted the seat next to him on the couch, smiling hopefully.

Kurt rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know, I…”

“Pwease, Kurt?” Cooper made an exaggerated pouty face. “I’m all lonely here, with only my little brother for company. Oh, woe is me!”

That made Kurt laugh, and Cooper decided he _really_ liked Kurt’s laugh. “Fine, drama queen, I’ll stay. But only because I don’t want you to die all by your lonesome.” He dropped his messenger bag next to the couch and sat down, pressed against the opposite arm rest.

The musical played for a bit, and out of the corner of his eye Cooper noticed Kurt relaxing, moving away from the side and more towards ~~Cooper~~ the middle of the couch.

“Aren’t you hot in your jacket? It’s not exactly cold in here.” Kurt was wearing like, a billion layers, from what Cooper could tell. _They’d take forever to get off_ , he thought absently. The top layer was a denim jacket that really brought out the blue in his eyes.

Kurt glanced over, more or less shrugged, and set the jacket down next to his messenger bag. He still had on a ton of layers, but they were at least tighter, showing off his long arms and his jeans weren’t exactly loose either, skintight and were they actually painted on and _okay, he needs to stop following his thought train now because it is going to **bad places.**_

“Kurt,” he said, trying to snap himself out of it, “you’re going to New York, right?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, lighting up, “I’m hoping to. It’s my dream, to live in New York, work on Broadway, maybe do some fashion stuff. I’ve got this who ten-year plan, where I start at-” He stopped, blushed. “Sorry. I forget everyone else doesn’t really care. I just get kind of carried away.”

“No, it’s…invigorating. To find someone with as much passion as you have.” He placed a hand on Kurt’s knee. “People like you and me, we know where we’re going. We know what we want. You do, don’t you? Know what you want?”

Kurt nodded slowly, half-looking at the movie, then back to Cooper. “Yeah, I know what I want. I want a show on Broadway, for- for someone like me, because guys like Finn have enough roles. I want a blog on Vouge.com, I want- Well, Cooper, I’ve got a ten-year plan, and I’ve got it all laid out.”

“See, and that shows such a level of _maturity_ that most kids your age just don’t have. It’s like…you’re not really seventeen, you’re…I don’t know, twenty-five. Mentally.”

“Like you,” Kurt said with a small smile, moving his leg away slightly.

“Yeah, like me. I didn’t even notice that.” Kurt tucked a lock of soft brown hair behind his ear and Cooper’s eyes followed the movement. “And you’ve got fantastic hair.”

“I should. I go through a six-step routine to keep it nice.”

“Now that can’t be all of it. I bet most of it’s natural.” He reached out and brushed his fingertips through the front of Kurt’s hair. He could hear Kurt’s breath catch- _he’s into this_ , he thought gleefully. His fingers trailed down the side of Kurt’s face, catching just under his jawline.

Kurt stared at him, eyes wide. “Cooper…”

“Shhh.” And with that, Cooper leaned in and pressed his mouth against Kurt’s.

Kurt’s hands flew up to his shoulders, and Cooper smirked into the kiss. _Yep, Cooper’s still got it, baby._ He pressed Kurt back into the armrest, cupping his face when he stilled underneath him.

He attempted to deepen the kiss, and that was when Kurt pushed him back. Faces inches apart, glastz eyes bored into his. “Cooper,” Kurt’s voice came out in a whisper, “what are you doing?”

“Kurt, just go with it. It feels _so right_ , doesn’t it?”

Kurt’s fingers tightened in Cooper’s shirt. “Uh, C-Cooper, no-”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? You need someone just like you, someone _passionate_ and _mature_ and _talented_.”

Kurt gaped up at him, looking shocked- _probably because I summed up his feelings so well_ \- and Cooper took the chance to kiss him again, sliding one hand up his long thigh-

Surprisingly strong arms shoved Cooper backwards so hard that he fell off the couch and landed flat on his ass. Now he was the one looking surprised up at Kurt.

“ _What the **fuck** is your problem_?!?” Kurt yelled, wiping off his mouth on the back of his sleeve frantically. “Jesus _Christ_ , Cooper! I’m your little brother’s _boyfriend!_ ”

Cooper’s mouth opened and closed uselessly before he could manage “but Kurt, I- you were-”

“You’re _sick_ , Cooper.” Kurt threw on his jacket and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder in a huff. “I’ve been dating Blaine for a year now and you think I’m going to cheat on him with _his brother_?” Without another word he left the room; Cooper numbly heard the door slamming behind him and a car engine starting.

Okay, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Cooper Anderson set out to get something- he got what he wanted. But he’d wanted Kurt, and he’d literally shoved Cooper on his ass. Time to- to regroup and replan. Yeah, that was it.

At least Kurt would be too mortified to tell Blaine. There was that, if nothing else.

* * *

 

The door shut around 9 at night. “Blaine?” Cooper called, leaning away from the shove. It couldn’t be their parents; they were in Italy until next week.

“Yeah, it’s me,” the voice of his brother drifted in from the front hall.

“Hey, I’m getting dinner started. What do you feel like, pancakes or ba-” Without warning, a hand on his shoulder jerked him around to face Blaine. “Oh, hey, wha-” A fist slammed into the left side of his jaw, sending him sprawling. He caught himself on the counter, pain blooming along his face. Jesus, Blaine had one hell of a right hook.

“You _bastard_!” Blaine was so angry he was shaking. “You kissed Kurt? You _actually kissed him?_ ”

Oh, shit. So much for Kurt being too embarrassed to tell Blaine. “Hey, man, I’m sorry, I just-”

“You’re sorry? _You’re sorry?_ ”

“In my defense, he was sending out some pretty strong signals-” He had to duck to avoid another blow. “And he seemed pretty into it at first, he didn’t shove me away until later-”

Blaine grabbed Cooper by the collar of his shift and slammed him so hard back into the counter so hard it made Cooper’s eyes water. “You asshole! You know why he didn’t fight back? _You wanna fucking know why he didn’t fight?_ ”

Cooper had no idea how to handle this, his brother _snarling_ into his face. “Uh, why?”

“Because, you prick, you aren’t the first person who’s kissed him against his will. Not the first person who has _sexually assaulted him! You understand that?”_

Cooper’s eyes widened as it sank in. Suddenly the fact that Kurt had gone completely still when he kissed him had a disturbing meaning. “You mean-“

“You think that didn’t fucking trigger something? Pinning him down, completely ignoring his body language, not listening when he was saying no? So yeah, you fucked that up pretty well, and then there’s the fact that _he’s my boyfriend_ , and you thought that was okay. You’re older than me, you’re supposed to not do stupid shit like this!”

“Blaine, man, listen, I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way, I just-”

“You didn’t mean to hurt me when you _kissed my boyfriend_?”

“Hey, I just-”

“You have issues, Cooper.”

“I know that, but-“

“You know what, Kurt and I are probably going to get married someday.  When we do, don’t come to our wedding. Don’t ever contact me or him, okay?”

“Blaine.” His brother released his grip and began backing away. “Blaine, come on.”

“I mean it, Cooper. I’m done. Stay out of my life.”

Cooper reached out a hand futilely but Blaine was gone.

Well, fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for part 2, in which feelings are discussed and the happy ending is delivered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kurt has had enough of your bullshit, and the Anderson brothers really need to communicate more.

Cooper had never noticed how white the ceiling was before. You don’t really notice things like that until you spend most of the day lying on your back and staring blankly up, trying to figure out how you managed to fuck your life up so completely.

He really hoped Blaine was okay- he hadn’t seen him since he punched him, three days ago. Nor had he returned any of his texts or calls. Part of him thought maybe he should call the authorities, but the other part just wanted to sulk and wallow in his own self-pity. That part was winning, actually.

How shitty of a brother was he, really? To try and chase his little brother’s boyfriend- his _jailbait_ boyfriend, actually, the kid was a minor. How far would he have gone if Kurt hadn’t shoved him away? He wasn’t just a shitty brother, he was officially a terrible human being.

The door shut in the foyer and for the first time in days, Cooper showed some interest in anything. His head popped up and words bubbled in his throat. _Blaine, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it-_

The boy who appeared, however, wasn’t Blaine. Cooper allowed his head to drop back down morosely as glastz eyes narrowed in his direction. “Blaine’s not here.”

Kurt walked over until he was hovering over Cooper from where the older man laid on the couch. “I’m not looking for Blaine.”

Cooper made a noise of acknowledgement and flung an arm over his eyes. “Good, ‘cause he’s not here.”

“That is to say, I _know_ where Blaine is. He’s where he’s been for the past three days- moping around my house, freaking out my brother, refusing to talk to me about what went on with you.”

Oh, good. At least he was somewhere safe, and Cooper didn’t have a whole other problem aside from his being awful. “Okay, thanks, you can go now.”

“No, actually, I don’t think I will.”

Cooper sighed and burrowed deeper into the couch. He just didn’t care anymore. He distantly was aware of Kurt talking, but he couldn’t find the motivation to listen. The only think that finally got him to pay attention was when Kurt smacked his arm. “Hey, ow.”

“Would you listen to me?” Maybe he’d ignored Kurt for a little too long, because now the boy was pissed. “I’m trying to talk to you.”

“Why are you _here_?” Cooper asked, exasperated. “If you aren’t looking for Blaine.”

“I’m here for you.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Look, kid. If you’re trying to make out with me, that ship has sailed.”

“Ew.” Kurt’s nose wrinkled. “Listen, you need to talk to your brother. He’s angry and mopey and bumming out my brother. I’m worried about him, okay? If it was left up to you two you’d just bottle up your feelings forever and never talk it out. Your family kind of does that.”

Cooper sat up at that, but that was all he had energy for, slumping against the back of the couch. “Well, what do you want me to do about it? He doesn’t want to talk to me. I’ve tried. He doesn’t.”

“I can get him to talk to you. Trust me, I’ve convinced him to do worse.”

Cooper’s brow furrowed and for a second he wondered if that statement should make him more grossed out or worried. “Well, maybe I don’t want to talk to _him_ ,” He said, mostly just to be difficult. “And you can’t convince me.”

“Yes I can.” There was no hesitation, just a matter-of-fact tone.

“Uh, no, you can’t.” Now Cooper was just feeling stubborn.

“ _Try me_.” Suddenly there was a note of danger in Kurt’s voice, and Cooper looked up at him uneasily. “You wanna play games, Cooper? I can play games.”

“Um…I don’t…” Kurt raised an eyebrow and Cooper suddenly found some resolve. “You’re just a kid. You can’t _make_ me do anything.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kurt crossed his arms, eyes cold and calculating. “You think _Blaine_ was pissed when he heard you kissed me? I have a quarterback brother who could beat the living shit out of you with one arm tied behind his back. He’s trying to make up for years of not being nice to me by being overprotective now, and I could easily sic him on you. Oh, and my father, he’s very much a waiting-with-my-shotgun type. When a jock so much as made a rude gesture at me, he _threw him into a wall_. What do you think he’d do if he heard that Blaine’s older brother- who is eight years older than me- came onto and kissed his _minor_ son? I mean, I’m obviously so _vulnerable_ -“ Kurt looked at him, doe-eyed and suddenly looking very young- “that it would probably make my dad crazy angry that an older man took advantage of me like that. I could cry when I told him, too, and he’d buy it.”

Cooper gaped up at Kurt. “You wouldn’t- not like that-“

“Oh yes, I would. But that’s _child’s play_ compared to what else I could do. You know Sue Sylvester, correct? You met her once. Well, earlier this year she _set things on fire_ when they annoyed her. She tried to fire Britney out of a cannon that would probably have killed her, and kicked her off the team when she refused.  Oh, and she’s so defensive of me that she resigned her job as principal so that she could protect kids like me better. And you’re not a student, so she wouldn’t hold back. You think my dad would be angry? When Sue got through with you there wouldn’t be enough left to _scrape off the sidewalk_.” Kurt reached out, grabbed Cooper by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him close so he was growling in his face. “You said you and me were people who knew what we want. Well, I do know what I want. I _want_ you to talk to your brother. And I’m going to _get_ what I want. Do we have an understanding?”

Cooper whispered, “Are you…blackmailing me?”

“Yes. Now, do we have an understanding?”

He nodded, almost automatically. “I can’t tell if I’m terrified or turned on right now.”

“Gross.” Kurt unceremoniously dropped Cooper, allowing him to fall back on the couch. “Talk to your brother, Cooper.”

He turned to leave and Cooper called out. “Kurt, wait!” Kurt stopped and turned to face him, and Cooper swallowed hard. “I’m sorry…about what I did. I didn’t know…I mean, I shouldn’t have anyway….but I didn’t know it would trigger anything.”

Kurt tensed, folded his arms tightly across his chest. “Whatever.”

Cooper wasn’t completely terrible at reading people, and he understood that probably meant drop the subject. “And, uh, Kurt?”

“Hm?”

“Blaine is really lucky to have you. I mean that in a totally platonic, non-creepy, big brother of your boyfriend way. I know you probably don’t give a shit about my approval, but if you did, you’ve got it.”

And was worth it, because Kurt finally smiled, and for the first time since this whole weirdness began, Cooper didn’t feel like he was attracted to Kurt- just, maybe, Kurt could be a friend someday.

“Maybe eventually this will be some funny story we tell at family reunions- how you met in brother-in-law, am I right?”

Kurt chuckled, shaking his head. “That will _never_ happen, Coop. Talk to your brother.” At that he left, and Cooper felt a little better. But though he may have gotten started on the path to making a friend, he was still losing a brother, and that hurt.

* * *

 

When he was cleaning up around the house and all of the sudden he turned around and Blaine was there, he was so surprised he nearly dropped the lamp he was dusting. “Oh, uh, Blaine. I didn’t hear you come in.”

Blaine stuck his hands in his pockets and looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. “Hey.”

“So, uh…you’re back.”

“It was Kurt’s idea.”

Damn, Kurt really was good at getting things to happen. That kid was gonna go places. “So, I guess I’ll start. I’m sorry, bro. I’m really sorry. I went a little crazy, and I never should have even thought about your boyfriend like that. Are we good?”

Blaine snorted, shaking his head. “No, we’re not good. You couldn’t just leave my life alone, just this once? I finally had something going right, and you have to come in and _ruin_ it.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to wreck your life, Blaine. It’s just been awhile since I dated anyone, and, from an outside perspective, Kurt is a really cool kid. I lost my head a little bit, but I swear, I’ll be on my best behavior around your boyfriends from now on, okay? I promise.”

“Don’t you get it? _This isn’t about Kurt!_ ” Blaine shouted. “It’s never been about Kurt! It’s always been about how the minute I want something, you need to have it. Even since we were kids, Cooper! I thought, hey, maybe we’ve grown out of this, or maybe you’d understand that some things are just off limits, but nope! You had to try and take this from me too.”

Cooper set down the lamp and turned to fully face Blaine. “What are you talking about? I didn’t want Kurt out of some…some power play. He’s attractive, okay? That’s all.”

“Remember when we did that community play?” Blaine folded his arms, scowling at Cooper. “And you weren’t even interested until I wanted that part, and then all of the sudden you wanted it too? And you got it, _of course_ , and spent the next three months rubbing my face in it.”

“Blaine, that wasn’t…” Cooper tried to remember that year. The play had seemed boring, and all of the sudden that part had _spoken_ to him. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Blaine wanted it…right? He could have sworn he wanted that part before…

“It’s always been that way, Cooper. If I got a toy, you had to get a better toy. If I got a good score on a test, you suddenly were motivated to study until you got a better one. If I came in second, you have to come in first. I _get_ it, okay? You’re better than me. I’ve gotten it for a long time. But can you just please leave this _one thing_ alone?”

Cooper stared at him, uncomprehending. “I’m not trying to prove I’m _better_ than you, Blaine!”

“Yes, you are! You always have. What would you have done if you’d gotten Kurt, really? Showed off the relationship for awhile until it no longer proved anything and then lost interest, right? Just like you did with anything else. Okay, you win, you’re better. Can this just _stop_ now?”

“Blaine, I- you don’t actually think that I’m better than you, do you?” Blaine’s gaze fixed on the ground near Cooper’s feet and he didn’t answer. “I- The only reason I pull this shit is because _I’m not_! You think it doesn’t sting to come back home and see that your little brother has his whole life going perfect while yours is falling apart? That’s not how it’s supposed to be! I’m supposed to be giving you advice, have you looking up to me, and instead I’m broke with no work out in LA, and you’ve got good grades, a bright future, a great relationship, and I’m actually _jealous_ of your life! You’re got it all figured out while I have no fucking clue! So forgive me if I try to feel a little superior here, because it’s not obvious that I’m not.”

“Coop…” Blaine gaped at him. “I don’t have it all figured out. Are you insane? Kurt’s going away to college in a few months, and I’m terrified he’s going to realize he can do so much better than me. I’m worried that I don’t actually have any friends at that school other than him. And I don’t even know if I’ll keep singing, dad’s been pushing for me to join him at the firm pretty hard, and I might just-“

“Woah, woah, woah, hold up.” Cooper raised a hand. “You’re thinking about going to work at the firm? I thought singing was your dream.”

“It is, but…it’s kind of unrealistic, isn’t it? I mean, so many people don’t make it, and…I’m not the greatest.”

“No, baby brother, you listen to me, okay?” Cooper gripped Blaine’s shoulders. “You have to follow your dreams. I may be broke and out of work, but there is not one day that I regret my choices. Because when I’m old- like, forty, I dunno- I will _never_ look back and wish I had tried. And if LA has taught me one thing, it’s that you’ve got to have confidence in yourself, because sometimes, nobody else will. So I don’t even want to hear you saying that you’re not the greatest. Because you are. And don’t let anybody tell you you’re not good enough, even me. _Especially_ me.”

Blaine sniffed and wiped at the corner of his eye. “See, Coop, I need you to be here, on my side. And when you have to beat me in everything, I just-“

“Oh, hush,” Cooper said, pulling Blaine into a hug. “Big brother’s here. I’ve got you.” Blaine buried his head in Cooper’s chest and Cooper absentmindedly stroked his hair for a minute. “This pysch major I knew once told me I had a superiority complex. I think maybe she was right. But those are my issues, not yours. Don’t let my problems bring you down, okay?” Blaine’s voice rumbled against him. “What did you say?”

Blaine pulled away enough to talk. “I _said_ , shut up, stupid. We’re family. Your issues are my issues. We’ve just got to…work on them together, alright?”

Cooper smiled, pulling Blaine back in to the hug. “There are the brains I wish I had.” After another moment, he added, “And you really shouldn’t worry about Kurt losing interest in you. He was so worried about your _emotions_ that he actually came over here and threatened to blackmail me into having a heart-to-heart with you.”

Muffled against this chest, he could hear Blaine’s voice say, “What did he threaten you with?”

“His brother, his father, and the cheerleading coach. He was actually really scary. Like, terrifying. I’m still unnerved.” Blaine laughed, and Cooper could feel the vibrations on his sternum. “Maybe text him eventually that we talked, so he doesn’t actually kill me.”

Finally, Blaine pulled back, eyes only slightly rimmed red. “So what did you make us for dinner?”

“Why do I have to do all the cooking? You know how to work a stove.”

“Maybe you need the practice. You did somehow set noodles on fire once.”

“Well you exploded a potato in the microwave.”

“…Order pizza?”

“Good idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my little family angst-fest. I hope you enjoyed the feels.


End file.
